Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Why are some sounds so unpleasant?

Researchers led by Sukhbinder Kumar of Newcastle University
have been studying this burning question: why do some sounds make us flinch?
We’re not talking about sounds that are so loud that they hurt our ears, but
rather sounds we can’t stand even at what would otherwise be comfortable
volumes. It turns out that these sounds create a feedback loop between the
auditory cortex, which processes sounds, and the amygdala, which is involved in
emotion and memory.

Thirteen healthy volunteers were asked to listen to 74
distinct sounds, many of which had been previously judged to be highly disagreeable, while
undergoing MRI scans. The subjects rated each sound from 1 (least unpleasant)
to 5 (most grating). Activity in both the auditory complex and the amygdala
were linked with the unpleasant sounds. The authors believe that the stimulus
travels from the auditory complex to the amygdala, where it is given an
emotional tag, and then back to the auditory complex. This cycle can be
repeated many times, increasing the degree of aversion to the sound.

Stochastic Scientist? What's up with that?

Why the Stochastic Scientist? As I'm sure you all know, 'stochastic' is another word for 'random', which is what I intend for the focus of this blog. Although my formal training is as a molecular biologist, there are many other fields of science that are also fascinating and beautiful. It's my intention to blog about which ever scientific discovery or invention catches my, and hopefully your, fancy.

I also hope to inspire people to learn more about science. By choosing among a huge variety of scientific endeavors, I'll undoubtably hit upon something that will pique my readers' interest.

I guess I could have called my blog 'The Joy of Science', but that wouldn't have been quite so random.